Acquaintance \Ac*quaint"ance\, n. [OE. aqueintance, OF.
acointance, fr. acointier. See Acquaint.]
1. A state of being acquainted, or of having intimate, or
more than slight or superficial, knowledge; personal
knowledge gained by intercourse short of that of
friendship or intimacy; as, I know the man; but have no
acquaintance with him.
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Contract no friendship, or even acquaintance, with a
guileful man. --Sir W.
Jones.
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2. A person or persons with whom one is acquainted.
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Montgomery was an old acquaintance of Ferguson.
--Macaulay.
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Note: In this sense the collective term acquaintance was
formerly both singular and plural, but it is now
commonly singular, and has the regular plural
acquaintances.
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To be of acquaintance, to be intimate.
To take acquaintance of or with, to make the acquaintance
of. [Obs.]
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Syn: Familiarity; intimacy; fellowship; knowledge.
Usage: Acquaintance, Familiarity, Intimacy. These words
mark different degrees of closeness in social
intercourse. Acquaintance arises from occasional
intercourse; as, our acquaintance has been a brief
one. We can speak of a slight or an intimate
acquaintance. Familiarity is the result of continued
acquaintance. It springs from persons being frequently
together, so as to wear off all restraint and reserve;
as, the familiarity of old companions. Intimacy is the
result of close connection, and the freest interchange
of thought; as, the intimacy of established
friendship.
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Our admiration of a famous man lessens upon our
nearer acquaintance with him. --Addison.
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We contract at last such a familiarity with them
as makes it difficult and irksome for us to call
off our minds. --Atterbury.
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It is in our power to confine our friendships
and intimacies to men of virtue. --Rogers.
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Accredit \Ac*cred"it\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Accredited; p. pr.
& vb. n. Accrediting.] [F. accr['e]diter; [`a] (L. ad) +
cr['e]dit credit. See Credit.]
1. To put or bring into credit; to invest with credit or
authority; to sanction.
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His censure will . . . accredit his praises.
--Cowper.
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These reasons . . . which accredit and fortify mine
opinion. --Shelton.
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2. To send with letters credential, as an ambassador, envoy,
or diplomatic agent; to authorize, as a messenger or
delegate.
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Beton . . . was accredited to the Court of France.
--Froude.
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3. To believe; to credit; to put trust in.
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The version of early Roman history which was
accredited in the fifth century. --Sir G. C.
Lewis.
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He accredited and repeated stories of apparitions
and witchcraft. --Southey.
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4. To credit; to vouch for or consider (some one) as doing
something, or (something) as belonging to some one.
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To accredit (one) with (something), to attribute
something to him; as, Mr. Clay was accredited with these
views; they accredit him with a wise saying.
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With \With\, prep. [OE. with, AS. wi? with, against; akin to AS.
wi?er against, OFries. with, OS. wi?, wi?ar, D. weder,
we[^e]r (in comp.), G. wider against, wieder gain, OHG. widar
again, against, Icel. vi? against, with, by, at, Sw. vid at,
by, Dan. ved, Goth. wipra against, Skr. vi asunder. Cf.
Withdraw, Withers, Withstand.]
With denotes or expresses some situation or relation of
nearness, proximity, association, connection, or the like. It
is used especially:
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1. To denote a close or direct relation of opposition or
hostility; -- equivalent to against.
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Thy servant will . . . fight with this Philistine.
--1 Sam. xvii.
32.
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Note: In this sense, common in Old English, it is now
obsolete except in a few compounds; as, withhold;
withstand; and after the verbs fight, contend,
struggle, and the like.
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2. To denote association in respect of situation or
environment; hence, among; in the company of.
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I will buy with you, talk with you, walk with you,
and so following; but I will not eat with you, drink
with you, nor pray with you. --Shak.
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Pity your own, or pity our estate,
Nor twist our fortunes with your sinking fate.
--Dryden.
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See where on earth the flowery glories lie;
With her they flourished, and with her they die.
--Pope.
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There is no living with thee nor without thee.
--Tatler.
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Such arguments had invincible force with those pagan
philosophers. --Addison.
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3. To denote a connection of friendship, support, alliance,
assistance, countenance, etc.; hence, on the side of.
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Fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee.
--Gen. xxvi.
24.
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4. To denote the accomplishment of cause, means, instrument,
etc; -- sometimes equivalent to by.
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That with these fowls I be all to-rent. --Chaucer.
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Thou wilt be like a lover presently,
And tire the hearer with a book of words. --Shak.
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[He] entertained a coffeehouse with the following
narrative. --Addison.
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With receiving your friends within and amusing them
without, you lead a good, pleasant, bustling life of
it. --Goldsmith.
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5. To denote association in thought, as for comparison or
contrast.
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Can blazing carbuncles with her compare. --Sandys.
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6. To denote simultaneous happening, or immediate succession
or consequence.
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With that she told me . . . that she would hide no
truth from me. --Sir P.
Sidney.
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With her they flourished, and with her they die.
--Pope.
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With this he pointed to his face. --Dryden.
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7. To denote having as a possession or an appendage; as, the
firmament with its stars; a bride with a large fortune. "A
maid with clean hands." --Shak.
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Note: With and by are closely allied in many of their uses,
and it is not easy to lay down a rule by which to
distinguish their uses. See the Note under By.
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Withe \Withe\ (?; 277), n. [OE. withe. ????. See Withy, n.]
[Written also with.]
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1. A flexible, slender twig or branch used as a band; a
willow or osier twig; a withy.
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2. A band consisting of a twig twisted.
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3. (Naut.) An iron attachment on one end of a mast or boom,
with a ring, through which another mast or boom is rigged
out and secured; a wythe. --R. H. Dana, Jr.
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4. (Arch.) A partition between flues in a chimney.
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